‘Udugangbala’ : A tribute from son to father
View(s):The celebration of the 75th anniversary of a not-so well known school in a not-so prominent locality is indeed a big occasion for the students, teachers, parents and residents of that area. Even more significant is the fact that there are still individuals who go out of their way to look for the pioneers who lent their hand in starting projects beneficial to the community. The head of Gamani Vidyalaya, Ingiriya and a few well-wishers took the initiative in doing exactly that. They wanted to demonstrate their gratitude to one person in particular, who had the courage and determination amidst many odds, to do something useful for the children – starting a school.
Armed with whatever information they had collected, they came to meet the son of the pioneer. They wanted him to write about his father incorporating whatever they had collected. The son agreed. The outcome is an interesting biography of a social worker, dutiful father and admirable human being. The title given by the writer, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi is ‘Udugangbala’ (Going upstream).
Apart from his skills in management Deepal is well-known for his writing skills, particularly in Sinhala. He has written 13 books in Sinhala on topics related to marketing management starting with ‘Sinhalen Business’. This book is different. He narrates the story of his father– S.P. Sooriyaarachchi- not essentially as a biography but more as incidents which influenced his own (Deepal’s) life and things the father did for the common good of the people. Deepal starts by describing his father’s disappointment in not being able to collate the articles he had written about ‘Ingiriya Gaminiya’ (referring to the school he founded) and publish them as a book. The son is happy he was able to do it even after three decades.
Deepal remembers his father’s contemplative moods and discussions between them on death. He reminisces how his father explained by comparing how we get rid of an old car or replacing the cadjan on the roof when it is time to change. He told him how one cannot pass on his pain to another. His father used to relax in his armchair in the evenings and whenever Deepal 
asked him what he was thinking about, he used to say that was contemplating on the different parts of his body. Knowing his father’s thinking, he thought about how he should plan his funeral when he died- Deepal was then just 14 or 15 years. And he did exactly as he planned. Thus ‘Udugangbala’ is just not a description of a father’s life story but much more. Deepal has woven a lot of meaningful thoughts into it. A fine example of how one should construct a biography.
His father was a leftist. As a young man he had been active in the Sooriyamal campaign. But he moved over when the Sinhala Sabha was formed by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and then to the SLFP. He was a close associate of Minister A. P. Jayasuriya, MP for Horana.
He remembers his father as a good orator and a good story teller.
In a chapter titled “Was he a teacher, a government servant or a social worker?”,Deepal analyses the varied activities of the father. He used to teach English and he claims that he got a good grounding in English by following his father’s lessons in ‘Radiant Way’. He taught his two sons and daughter ‘High Roads of Literature’ from beginning to end combining interesting background stories with the text.
As for his social work, ‘Ingiriye Gaminiya’ was his major project. The collection of articles and notes he had written is virtually a thesis of his effort.
The book, written in amost readable manner, ends with the reproduction of photographs and documents related to the father’s life story.
‘Udugangbala’ is a dutiful son’s tribute to a devoted father who obviously was the model for the son’s life.
D.C.R.